Caroline Kennedy
Caroline Kennedy
Caroline Bouvier Kennedy is an American author, attorney, and diplomat who is currently the United States Ambassador to Japan. She is a prominent member of the Kennedy family and the only surviving child of President John F. Kennedy and First Lady Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy. She is a niece of Senators Robert F. Kennedy and Ted Kennedy and older sister to the late John F. Kennedy Jr...
NationalityAmerican
ProfessionPolitician
Date of Birth27 November 1957
CityNew York City, NY
CountryUnited States of America
I have never had a president who inspired me the way people tell me that my father inspired them. But for the first time, I believe I have found the man who could be that president - not just for me, but for a new generation of Americans.
I feel that my father's greatest legacy was the people he inspired to get involved in public service and their communities, to join the Peace Corps, to go into space. And really that generation transformed this country in civil rights, social justice, the economy and everything.
When you make the right decision, it doesn't really matter what anyone else thinks.
It is not easy to stand up against your constituents or your friends or colleagues or your community and take a tough stand for something you believe is right. Because you always want to keep working and live to fight another battle and it might cost you your career.
One of the greatest gifts my brother and I received from my mother was her love of literature and language. With their boundless energy, libraries open the door to these worlds and so many others. I urge young and old alike to embrace all that libraries have to offer.
In my family in particular, I think, there was a sense we have to work twice as hard.
When you're going through something, whether it's a wonderful thing like having a child or a sad thing like losing somebody, you often feel like 'Oh my God, I'm so overwhelmed; I'm dealing with this huge thing on my own.' In fact, poetry's a nice reminder that, no, everybody goes through it. These are universal experiences.
I think one of my father's great legacies is the people that he inspired and the generation that he inspired transformed America through civil rights, women's rights, equal justice, and they've passed that on to their children and grandchildren.
People don't always realize that my parents shared a sense of intellectual curiosity and a love of reading and of history.
U.S. Rep. John Murtha and Alberto Mora exemplify the kind of courage my father admired most. When others were unwilling to do so, each man recognized a moral obligation to speak out against policies he believed were misguided and contrary to our national interest.